


after the storm

by lonelyheartsclub_com



Category: Murder Most Unladylike Series - Robin Stevens
Genre: F/F, M/M, Modern AU!, bertie is Down Bad., except. they all go to public british school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:35:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelyheartsclub_com/pseuds/lonelyheartsclub_com
Summary: bertie wells is terribly in love with his best friend, harold mukherjee. ever since he admitted it to their other friends, it's been a mission to get the two of them together. but one day, after a particularly disastrous parent's evening, harold and bertie go out for milkshakes. and, you know, to talk.
Relationships: Alfred Cheng & Harold Mukherjee & Amanda Price & Henrietta Trilling & Bertie Wells, Amanda Price/Henrietta Trilling, Harold Mukherjee/Bertie Wells
Kudos: 11





	after the storm

Bertie was pathetically in love with Harold. It was official. 

He grinned at Bertie, running his hands through his long hair that Bertie would like to run his hands through himself, and he put a hand on Bertie's. "Are you okay?" Bertie nodded, but he could see his science teacher talking to his aunt and uncle, and he could see the displeased looks on their faces. Bertie waved at them half-heartedly, and Felix gave him a waning look of fatigue. 

"Wanna blow this place?" Harold asked, and Bertie nodded. A chance to get away. With Harold. 

His phone buzzed, and he got a text from Henry. _"where are y'all going?? omg do you think he's gonna ask you out?? if so i want the whole story."_

 _"lmao it's not gonna happen, harold's probably in love with someone else or something"_ he texted back, trying not to seem too hopeful. 

_"man shush he's down bad for you"_ Henry responded, gesturing for them to leave. Bertie grinned, and soon they were laughing through stitches because they had run off school grounds. His uncle Felix wouldn't be pleased, but he'd rather take his chance.

"Hey, want me to buy you a milkshake?" Harold asked, pulling out a tenner. Bertie blushed. Harold's music was leaking out of his Airpods, and from what Bertie could hear, he was listening to a Kali Uchis song. 

"Um, sure, but I'll pay-"

"Nope. My treat." Harold cut him off, skipping into the Shake Away, shouting, "You coming, slowpoke?" before waltzing in. 

Their local Shake Away was a dimly-lit place that smelled like pure sugar, and the seats were red leather. It looked like something out of the 50s, really. Bertie and his friends gathered there to go get milkshakes because it was "vintage and aesthetic." Bertie just liked their vanilla milkshakes. He and Harold would usually share one, and he'd look deep into Harold's eyes and shove his hands in his pockets and try his hardest to mask. 

It was a bit like that this time, but usually Henry or Alfred would be there to shatter the silence. 

Instead, it was just the two of them sat there, shuffling awkwardly whilst sipping their vanilla milkshake.

"So, did you ask me out here to kiss me or something?" Bertie joked, and he swallowed in horror. Why the fuck did he say that?

"Damn it, I'm never trusting Alf again. How'd you know?" Harold joked, but Bertie could see that it...wasn't really a joke. He jumped in his own skin, and dug his nails into his skin. _Was Harold going to ask him out?_

"Why on earth would you tell Alf anything about your love life? He'd expose you before you could warn him not to tell anyone."

Harold grinned and nodded. "That's fair enough." He pushed the milkshake out of the way, and Bertie's mind was _racing._

_Oh dear God, he's going to kiss me, he's going to kiss me, Bertie, you idiot, make sure to mask-_

And Harold pulled him close, by the lapels, to be specific, and he kissed Bertie. Harold's lips tasted like a strange combo between Carmex and vanilla. 

Bertie's hands started shaking, and he broke away from Harold to laugh giddily and stim. Harold said nothing, just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, the most adorable grin on his face. "You're sweet as sugar, Bertie Wells." 

Bertie looked up at Harold, and his eyes widened. He covered his face, which was burning, with his hands and laughed. "Don't. You'll turn me into even more of an idiot by the second with every comment you make." he teased, getting closer to Harold again. 

Harold's phone buzzed, and he frowned. "Well, Bertie, I have to go, but," he kissed Bertie hard, causing his knees to buckle. Harold wrapped an arm around his waist. "One for the road, eh?" 

And then Bertie was running to catch up with Harold, saying that technically he had to go too. They laughed themselves into a frenzy. 

By the time they had gotten back, all eyes were on them.


End file.
